Public Relations
How often have you read a news article that profoundly influenced your thinking, or clicked through to an interesting tidbit promising to satisfy your natural curiosity with a unique twist on the latest celebrity event? Public relations tactics were more often than not employed to construct the content that grabbed your attention.
The strategies and techniques involved in distributing information about an organization or individual greatly influence an audience’s perception of that brand or person. Whether it’s creating a positive image, representing the company to the media, or softening the ramifications of a negative news story, public relations serve as a promoter, manager, and buffer of public attitudes. Capitalizing on social and lifestyle trends, newsworthy events, interesting topics, and the remarks of influential leaders, public relations efforts are a strategic communications activity integral to today’s business climate.
Publicity is not public relations. External entities contribute to wanted or unwanted publicity. On the other hand, public relations come from a controlled perspective where the message is deliberate and seeks to influence and build mutually beneficial relationships with intended audiences.
Public relations, when used to gain free exposure for a client, is a form of marketing called “earned media” vs “paid media” as in advertising. The former seeks to earn the public’s acceptance and favor while the latter encourages a more direct line to a sale of a product or service.
Perception is in the Eye of the Beholder
The practice of managing a company’s message or reputation through targeted and strategic communications is public relations at its best. Presenting authentic and favorable views of products, leadership, or culture while expressing the organization’s values and mission helps to formulate an audience’s perception. Since most companies have more than one audience, messages are tailored for the greatest impact to each audience. Therefore, when a distinct message is intended to influence shareholders, customers, or employees, it’s imperative to know and understand the mindset and demographics of each group. Consistency, relevancy, clarity, and truthfulness should be embedded in all credible public relations themes, no matter the audience you are trying to influence.
The Role of Public Relations in Today’s Marketplace
Public relations bolster the success of a company by supporting the genuine relationship building of various audiences, or reassuring their publics when controversy strikes, or helping to attract quality shareholders. Rapidly growing or new organizations would do well to take advantage of public relations strategies. Timeliness is crucial during the challenging phases of growth. Public relations not only embrace external audiences, but internal ones as well. It might be new hires, seasoned employees, management, contract workers, or volunteers that need to receive well-orchestrated and consistent messaging across all networks.
With the great range of digital analytics available, it’s possible to measure how effective a PR campaign is by assessing how many people engaged with your content via views (impressions), mentions, shares, comments, and likes.
Crisis management is one of the role’s a Public Relations Professional plays in shaping the landscape of public opinion. It’s hoped that the Crisis Communications Plan is never needed but having one in place constitutes preparedness and helps to avoid reacting inappropriately, causing even more harm. Alterations or additions can be made for varying circumstances, but a well-written blueprint is the starting point to facilitate transforming a negative experience into a more positive one. It may be framing and executing a response for accepting accountability, offering an explanation, and laying out future actions, or balancing the negative with the organization’s worthy accomplishments.
Effectively Leveraging Tools of the Trade on a Client’s Behalf
Articles, blogs, webinars, podcasts, videos, press releases, emails, and social media posts can all be instruments of persuasion on behalf of an organization or individual. What is required is a deep understanding of the various audiences or stakeholders a company seeks to influence. What are concerns that bother them, interests they embrace, or problems they want solved?
Creating a consistent, believable, and trustworthy story about a product, service, or business is called messaging. Good messaging eliminates confusion and contradictions in a brand’s public image. It’s the same message no matter what a social media channel or internet search reveals.
Social media platforms allow a company to engage and communicate directly with their audiences to improve their standing in the marketplace. Social media outlets amplify an organization’s messaging with a combination of critical thinking, entertainment, and significant information.
Organic marketing and the use of public relations differ from paid advertising in the quest for customers, often carrying more weight than their paid counterparts. There is an underlying subtly that PR is more believable, altruistic, and authentic than paid advertising.
Building on a Foundation of Integrity
It’s no small feat to remain ethical in all that a company releases to its public. The best Public Relations Professionals embrace a code of ethics, values, and guidelines in all of their work. These include unwavering integrity that reflects truthfulness, accuracy, and accountability for facts and information released. There’s a dual obligation for responsible advocacy that effectively serves the client as well as the public.
Today’s sophisticated and socialized audiences thirst for immediacy, transparency, and engagement that offers profound insights. PR professionals leverage current events as they relate to a company’s message using video content as well as other digital tools. Maximizing on the thought leadership of CEOs and Senior Executives via articles, posts, or press releases focuses an audience’s attention on the foundation of an organization’s value while increasing corporate credibility.
Where Do You Go From Here?
Start by examining your current PR practices. If you have none, that’s OK. The objective is to take baby steps if you are a small business with a small budget and grow your PR endeavors from there. A Public Relations Professional can help you outline your PR goals based on your company vision and mission. Exploring outlets, themes, and tools will open up new possibilities and opportunities that you many have never considered.
Larger organizations will want to create an annual Strategic Communications Plan to make sure multiple forms of media and creative campaigns are employed. This will ensure the company has the greatest positive exposure on all fronts. Public Relations is often the most underused facet of a marketing mix but the return on investment can be many times over from what is spent on advertising or direct marketing.
Influence. Persuasion. Engagement. These are the goals of a public relations campaign. Perceptive strategy, strong execution, and consistent follow-up are the keys to reaching those goals.